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J1
Samba Member
Joined: February 10, 2014
Posts: 698
Location: SoCal
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 Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2015 11:21 pm Post subject: |
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QUESTION: What's the easiest way to get the rubber seal off the mudguard in the front wheel well? I'd like to take the mudguard off for a peek inside that front-of-door area plus it seems like a good idea before cutting that part out, but the existing seal is pretty hard and it looks like tedious work especially in that cramped section.
Is there a magical chemical? Heat? Razor? Just take your time chiseling it off?
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1971 Ghia coupe. Assume I know nothing and you'll be pretty darn close to the truth. |
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djway3474
Samba Member
Joined: August 19, 2011
Posts: 2582
Location: The Real NDK So Cal
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| Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2015 11:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Remove the three fasteners and start working it from the bottom. You don't appear to have a lot of undercoating in there so it should not be too difficult. |
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c21darrel
Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
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J1
Samba Member
Joined: February 10, 2014
Posts: 698
Location: SoCal
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| Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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3 or 4 fasteners? I only see 2. To clarify, this is the mudguard at the rear of the FRONT wheel well. Tips still appreciated, otherwise I'll just get comfortable and start scraping at that rubber seal.
In the meantime, I managed to cut off the last pieces in the rocker area and free the pan of the nasty channel. Cut-inspect-cut-inspect-cut-inspect over and over again so that I did not cut into the pan. Easy. But I did cut a tiny bit into the bottom lip of the pan... so I'm still averaging 1 bumble per session. I guess I'm still pro 
Though I have much more cutting to do, I couldn't resist cleaning this section of the pan. Scraped off the pan-to-body seal and took a wire wheel to the surface rust. It feels so refreshing, like showering after 5 days camping in the wilderness!
Before and after shots...
I'm glad I took a little diversion from cutting. It gives me a glimpse of what will be. And I can't wait to get back to it. Now that I fall asleep thinking about the ghia, wake up thinking about the ghia, and daydream about the ghia, I believe to my wife's dismay that it has officially become my mistress.
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1971 Ghia coupe. Assume I know nothing and you'll be pretty darn close to the truth. |
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jbsx127
Samba Member
Joined: February 18, 2015
Posts: 83
Location: FWB, FL
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| Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 1:09 pm Post subject: |
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why don't you take those seats out. You don't want to slip with the grinder into them.
You're doin good. |
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c21darrel
Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
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c21darrel
Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
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J1
Samba Member
Joined: February 10, 2014
Posts: 698
Location: SoCal
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| Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 2:23 pm Post subject: |
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| jbsx127 wrote: |
| why don't you take those seats out. You don't want to slip with the grinder into them. |
Because I'm lazy and ok taking some chances. Plus I could use an excuse to get new seats... hmm, this might be an interesting idea!
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1971 Ghia coupe. Assume I know nothing and you'll be pretty darn close to the truth. |
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J1
Samba Member
Joined: February 10, 2014
Posts: 698
Location: SoCal
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| Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 2:28 pm Post subject: |
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Step 6: Cut out torsion cover area
Unlike cutting out the rocker area which is pretty straightforward (now that I've done it), there is probably no standard recipe for cutting out the torsion cover area. Just depends on what cutting tools you have, how rusty it is, and the shape of the section you will replace on the fender.
It took me many little cuts at all different angles and I still have more to do. So I'll just show the before shot...
And the after shot. I still need to decide what to do with the marked areas. Replacing the solid line area would require fabricating something from scratch. Replacing the dashed line area would require messing with a poorly-fitting replacement panel. There are examples of both on the Samba but I'm not sure what the pros and cons are. Suggestions welcome...
Another decision point is whether to keep the Y tube in place or remove it. Removing it seems like it'd be additional work, but keeping it in place may make removing old metal and putting in the new channel really hard or even impossible. Again, suggestions welcome...
Once again, this is the part I've enjoyed the most so far... cleaning up and wire wheeling the pan... easy with immediate gratification!
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1971 Ghia coupe. Assume I know nothing and you'll be pretty darn close to the truth. |
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CiderGuy
Samba Member
Joined: December 23, 2013
Posts: 1351
Location: Bucks County, Pa
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| Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 3:10 pm Post subject: |
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The knotted wire wheels seem to work better and last longer then the straight wire wheels.
You're doing great, keep at it.
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Cars Currently Owned:
1970 Karmann Ghia Coupe
1973 Karmann Ghia Coupe - Project car for sale
1970 Karmann Ghia Convertible (Body off restoration)
Timing is everything |
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J1
Samba Member
Joined: February 10, 2014
Posts: 698
Location: SoCal
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| Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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Cleaned up the rocker remnants near the B pillar. This MAY be my biggest bumble so far... did I cut too far back? Seemed appropriate (at the time) in order to free the channel, but now that I look at these pictures... hmmm...
Then the Y tube. This is about as much of the channel I can cut out with a grinder. The red lines are how it's welded to the channel and I was eventually able to cut out the top weld, but the bottom one is pretty hard to get to...
Working my way rearward, I cut out more of the outer torsion cover area. This inner skin seems salvageable (?) after wire wheeling but I haven't decided yet how to handle that big rust hole...
So this is how it stands now. It will probably remain like this for a week given a busy Easter weekend and kids' spring break. Can't wait to get back to this and resurrect this baby 
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Mscdman
Samba Member
Joined: June 12, 2014
Posts: 562
Location: Denver, CO
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| Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 9:06 am Post subject: |
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| KPRG sells that inner fender torsion piece. It's pretty cheap if I remember correctly. I had mine replaced and it looks like it went on relatively smooth |
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J1
Samba Member
Joined: February 10, 2014
Posts: 698
Location: SoCal
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| Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 2:03 pm Post subject: |
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Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. I'm back from a little off-the-grid getaway with the family. Joshua Tree, one of our favorite places. If you haven't been, you must go. It may have been the first time in a year that I have not thought about the ghia for 4 straight days
But alas, I'm back online. Although I'm not completely done cleaning out the torsion cover area, I've done the "rough cut" so I'm moving on.
Step 7: Cut out front-of-door area
Not knowing exactly what was behind this (but seeing bubbles and rust holes on the outer skin) I decided to first cut a peep hole...
And then expand the hole from there. Turns out there is not too much risk cutting this area out...
BUMBLE OF THE SESSION: The vertical thing on the left is the rubber seal for the mudguard. Prior to cutting open this section, I tried pecking at the seal in order to take the mudguard off and look inside. Turns out I just ruined the seal and created more work for myself. QUESTION: Is this rubber seal original? Seems some of the rust on the skin was coming from water trapped between the seal and the skin.
And that bulbous lamb chop looking thing on the right, I've seen them look much worse in other threads but it still needs to be replaced and I guess I'll be trying my hand at fabricating non-linear forms. QUESTION: What the heck is that thing anyway?
This area needs a lot of work too:
A: Fab and replace the plate where the rocker ends.
B: Extract channel "end plate" that is sandwiched between the dogleg and the outer section.
C: Fab and replace small section where channel meets up with the dogleg (repro channel does not go beyond where it is cut in this photo).
D: Fab and replace small rusty pan section.
It's not looking as bad as it could be, but these are the little details I suspect you experienced folks are used to tackling but us average joes don't have appreciation for. I think I am starting to appreciate it now.
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c21darrel
Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
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J1
Samba Member
Joined: February 10, 2014
Posts: 698
Location: SoCal
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| Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:03 pm Post subject: |
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In the 2nd to last photo in my previous post, the mud guard seal is the obvious vertical piece that looks chewed up with off-whitish powder on it (left of the lambchop). It's rather thick and sturdy. Haven't been able to find the replacement part online.
For the lambchop, I think I have 18g sheet metal lying around that I will attempt fabbing with. But I'm guessing it may be too thick for this piece, especially for a newb like me who doesn't even have metal shaping tools.
And yes, camping in JT during spring, in the midst of all that other worldly rock, despite the cold nights, is pretty darn inviting. One day, I hope to take a trip there in the ghia for some surreal photo ops!
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djway3474
Samba Member
Joined: August 19, 2011
Posts: 2582
Location: The Real NDK So Cal
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| Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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Use 20g metal.
that seal looks too wide to be stock but it is hard to say for sure. the drain holes in that area also fill with debris and then the silt builds up inside and holds moisture, then the rust.
Looks like you are having a great time. I was a rookie going through the A pillars myself but I made it.
Keep up the good work. |
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c21darrel
Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8211
Location: San Dimas
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J1
Samba Member
Joined: February 10, 2014
Posts: 698
Location: SoCal
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| Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 2:34 pm Post subject: |
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Thx for the mudguard seal info. Will refer back to this later. For now, more trouble near the door hinge pillar.
QUESTION: Do I need to replace the entire well support too (UGH)? Really need input on this one 
I realized that there is a sidewall inside the well support that seems to have protected the curved portion. The pan bolt in that area came out smooth as butter.
But looking inside the straight portion (where the channel would meet up) looks like this. That hole way in the back doesn't look promising...
And after some gentle probing with pliers, it ended up like this. Although it looks like a big mess, I've tried to annotate what these rusted parts are...
So... in the straight section, the outer skin is fine, but the floor (?) and sidewall need attention. The channel endplate would be replaced anyway from the replacement channel. So what are my options???
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sputnick60
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 22, 2007
Posts: 3916
Location: In Molinya Orbit
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motorhead364
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2008
Posts: 715
Location: Amarillo Texas
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| Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 4:16 pm Post subject: |
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Damn that sucks. However you make me really happy that I had mine dipped. I wonder if instead of replacing the dogleg you could find some sort of wire "pipe cleaner" to go on a drill and clean all that out then coat it with eastwoods interior frame coating. It comes with a "straw" to get into all the tight spots. I did all my channels, inside the rockers, fresh air channels and frame tunnel.
On the other hand a new dogleg would be nice. But damn it looks tough to get to. I'd say you'll have to pull the body from pan to do it right.
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